The present invention relates to a dispenser for seeds or the like and, in particular, to such a dispenser which is hand held.
Devices for dispensing seeds or the like for planting are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 332,955 discloses a corn planter and guano distributor which includes a manually operated stirrer or agitator and has a lateral slide operative to selectively close a portion of the delivery tube to regulate the amount of feed.
Another prior art device is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,540 which discloses a planter having a rotary agitator blade and including a seed plate having a plurality of spaced openings of different sizes which is movable across the opening to accommodate proper sowing of seeds of different type.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,163 discloses a rotary type of planter having a rotatable outer cap having blades formed therein so that rotation of the cap agitates the seeds or other objects. An outer cap having a single opening in it which registers with the openings in the rotated cap is provided and may be aligned with one of several openings in the rotatable cap to enable discharge from one of the other openings when discharge ceases from another opening.
Generally, prior art dispensers for seeds or the like suffer from one or more shortcomings. For example, prior art seed dispensers do not provide a positive control for dispensing of the seed but rather rely upon a more or less continuous discharge of the seed through an opening by means of rotation of an agitator blade. Some prior art devices are rather complicated requiring gears and the like to control the action of the agitator blade.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a hand held dispenser for seeds or the like which overcomes the foregoing and other shortcomings of prior art devices by providing a novel hand held dispenser for seeds or the like which provides positive control over the timing of discharge of the seeds or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel design of seed dispenser in which the size of the discharge opening may be selected to accommodate different sizes and types of seeds or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seed dispenser of novel design which is rugged and simple in design and construction. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description.